Coupler operating mechanism



March 7, 1950 BRQNSQN 2,499,567

COUPLER OPERATING MECHANISM Filed 001;. 4, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 5417422 67 570725022,

S. C. BRONSON COUPLER OPERATING MECHANISM March 7' 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4, 1945 mm 4 Wm M I Patented Mar. 7, 1950 courpnn- OPERATING MECHANISM.

Sabin C'." llronson Hammond, Ind.,.assignr to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111:, a corporation of Delaware Applicationflctober 4, 1945, Serial No. 620,327

Claims.v 1.

This inventionlrelates to'wrail wayvcar coupler operating mechanisms, operable from ,thessider-of thecar, andv the principal oloject-zof the invention is to provide an operating rod having a handle atits outer. end and :normally: norrerotatably supporte'dibyabracket .oniathe endaotrazcarrand hav ing: meanslat :its? innersend fortattachment' to: the lock-"lifter of'iaz car coupleirssmthat upon rotation of said rod said: lbckalifterris swungitosraiserthe coupler alockiand itherebyioperate the coupler;

Another obj eat is: to 1: so? form: the? supporting bracket andatheipartaofthe rod'ssupported by the bracket so that, normallmithe I'OdilSHOlSl-IOtatfiblfi in said bracket; butwhen; theizrod: handle is operated initherusual :way -byraztrainmanrthe rod may'be rotated'witliinrthez bracket to; operate the couplerz:

Another object: is td-so: form..the:--supporting bracket thatwhencthexarod handle issreleased :b'y the-'trainmanithe operating'rodswillautomatically returnto:itsmonerotatableepositiomtherein;

The desirability? of: normally? nonerotatively supporting? a coupler? operating rod; has; been reccgnize'dxin; the: prior: 'art; buttimmo'stzinstances known: to: applicanhxit sslnecessaryfor the rod to be elevated? out :of: TifiSrhGlHlDOSitiOH beioreit can b'esrotated: This is. obiecti'onableib'ecause it requires a" special; operationi by," the. trainman which is. not readily apparent;especiallywhen working:intlievdark;

Specifically 'the object. of the; invention is to provide a spring whichiisipreierably. associated with thesoperating trod supporting bracketv and normally it resilientlyrholds: therrod-ain sublstan tially non-rotative relation with"; the" bracket. Furthermore; so that iiponirotationi-ofthe operating rod (by meansofi'theihandlewor otherwise) the springresiliently-resists such rotation so that when the' forceztc ausing the" rotation ceases the springrtendsz-to'returnetheeoperating rod to normal position; In other 'words, when" the *operator lets go ofthe handle the'operating. rod is forced by the springzbackzto its-normal position.

Another: object'is to; so'position: the spring relative to: thebracket: that ths-spring retains the" operating rodrinith'ezbracket:

Another obj ect is to? so? form" the-spring and its attaching 'ineans: to the :bracket? that it can be snapped? intopla'ce-"srr that :it does not require any other attachingrmeans; such: as: a. belt or cotter'pin', which might become accidentally detached from the bracket so that the spring would also become-detachedandlost.

Otherobjects-andacivantages of-the invention will appear in the following dScl'iDtiOnthGiBUfl end in a bracket andconnected at its inner end to the lock lifter of a coupler.

Figure 2 isaperspective View of my improved coupler operating rod bracket.

Figure 3 is a central sectional view through the bracket showing the relation of the bracket, operating rod and springin'rfull lines in normal position, and in dcttedilinesewhen the operating rod has been rotatedininety degrees. In this figure a slight clearance issshown between the spring and the operatingrod:

Figure 4 shows'a'pl'an view of atypical operating rod for use with mydevice:

Figure 5 is aniend vi'ewofia twopiece operating rod wherein theihandlepis-aseparate member from the-operating;rod.,

Figure 6 is aviewsimilarto Figure-5 showing the operating rod rotatedapproximately forty five degrees.

Figure 7 shows-"a? typical; spring for use with my improved device.

Figure 8 is similar'tovFigure 3but shows the spring inengagementawith thewoperating rod.

In the drawings, tindicates an operating rod for an Association of American Railroads standard E coupler; which rod is provided at its outer end witha depending-handle portion 2 and at its inner: endwith-a hook portion 3 connected to an eye of the rotary lock lifter 5; which lifter is pivotally connected atone end to a link which lifts thelock of the coupler upon swinging of the lock lifter andthereby operates the coupler. Adjacent the handle portion Z-the rod is supported adjacent the-side ofa car in a bracket 6.

The trend ofrailway freight train operation is toward faster moving trains which causes greater wear and tear onthe car and equipment thereon, and sometimes the inertia built up in the operatingrod, or thelocklifter, is sufilcient to lift the coupler lock'and thereby uncouple' cars of a moving train. To prevent such an occurrence; I'have'designed my operating rodso that in normal position, i; e., at all times other" than when the coupler istobeoperated to uncouple a pair of cars; said rod is substantially'non-rotatably held in its supportingbracket which is substantially u-shaped-in transverse section; Consequently, the handle cannot-whip due to said inertia and thereby unlock the coupler.

Figures 1, 2, 3 and'4- show-a typical form of my invention wherein the operating rod! is provided with a non-circularportion forming a lateral extension 8 which portion 1' is-rotatively mounted'in the bracket; as at 'Hl', with the lateral extending part8 in engagement with the bracket at l, thus providinga'non-rotativeengagement of the rod with the bracket'to'prevent the service movements'of the car from accidentally rotating the rod sufficiently to unlock the coupler. The spring i2 yieldably extends betweenthe apertures 3 l3 and M in the walls l5 and iii of the bracket over the non-circular portion 1 of the rod, and is adapted to limited fiexion relative to its support, so as to retain the operating rod in normal position and biased against accidental rotation.

When the rod is rotated the extension 8 of the rod rolls upon the surface [8 and into the groove [9 and simultaneously deflects the spring l2 substantially as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, thus providing resilient means to return the rod to normal position when free to do so. The line of force exerted by the spring upon the rod is eccentric from the place of support of the rod in the groove, thereby providing a restoring moment to return the rod to normal position, as shown in full lines in Figure 3.

One of the objects of the groove I9 is to reduce the amount of deflection or distortion of the spring necessary for the operation of the device. The spring 12 is prevented from moving bodily upwardly by its engagement with the upper surfaces of the apertures l3 and M. Conversely, the spring I2 is prevented from moving bodily downwardly by its engagement with the lower surfaces of the apertures l3 and M, as it may be desirable to provide a clearance between the spring l2 and rod to keep them from wearing each other when the rod moves laterally of the car with the coupler. A rivet 2|, or other means, is used to keep the spring in place. The groove I9 is preferably provided with a drainage hole 22.

Figures 5 and 6 show an operating rod 38 having a separate handle 31. Figure 5 shows the handle and rod in normal position with the eye 32 on the operating rod in horizontal position and the handle 3! vertically disposed by gravity. Figure 6 shows the operating rod rotated fortyfive degrees so that the eye 32 is at an angle of forty-five degrees to the horizontal, but due to the association of the eye 32 on the operating rod and the eye 33 on the handle, the handle assumes the vertical position by gravity shown in Figure 6. This type of rod may be used with my device.

Figure 8 shows a modified construction wherein the spring is in contact with the non-circular portion 1 of the rod. In this modification the spring 25 is normally straight, as shown in Figure 7, but must be slightly deflected to be inserted in the apertures 26 and 2'! in the bracket 28. The spring 25 is held in such deflected shape by the upper surfaces of the apertures 26 and 21. These apertures 25 and 2'! and the spring 25 are shaped so that the spring '25 may be snapped into place and thus held in the bracket 28 without any other securing means.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In an operating mechanism for a railway car coupler including a rod for operating said coupler upon rotation of said rod, which rod is provided with a non-circular portion; a bracket defining a U-shaped support adapted to support the non-circular portion of said rod, a leaf spring extending across said U-shaped support in close proximity to said non-circular portion, and adapted to limited fiexion relative to said support whereby rotation of said non-circular portion will cause said spring to be flexed and thereby normally bias said rod against accidental rotation.

2. In an operating mechanism for a railway car coupler including a rod for operating said 6 coupler upon rotation of said rod, a portion of said rod being provided with a laterally extending part; a bracket defining a U-shaped support having a bearing surface adapted to normally support said portion and part, a groove adapted to receive said part upon rotation of said rod, and a leaf spring mounted in and extending across said support and adapted to limited fiexion relative to said support, whereby upon rotation of said rod said portion moves from said bearing and flexes said spring and said part moves into said groove, thereby providing a restoring moment in said spring which urges said portion to return to normal rest position when free to do so.

3. In an operating mechanism for a railway car coupler including a rod for operating said coupler upon rotation of said rod, said rod being provided with a non-circular portion; means to prevent accidental rotation of said rod due to service movements of the car sufiicient to unlock the coupler, said means comprising a bracket defining a U-shaped support attachable to said car and provided with spaced walls having aligned apertures therein and adapted to support the non-circular portion of said rod between said walls, and a leaf spring yieldably secured adjacent its ends within said apertures and extending over said portion in close proximity thereto and adapted to limited fiexion relative to said support whereby upon rotation of said rod said portion flexes said spring thereby biasing said rod against accidental rotation.

4. A supporting bracket for a rotatable car coupler operating rod, said rod being formed with a non-circular portion, said bracket comprising spaced walls defining a U-shaped support having a notch in the bottom thereof adapted to support said non-circular portion, said spaced walls formed with aligned apertures therein, and resilient means yieldably secured at its ends in said apertures and extendable over said non-circular portion in close proximity thereto and adapted to limited fiexion relative to said support to normally bias said rod against accidental rotation.

5. A supporting bracket for a rotatable car coupler operating rod, said rod being formed with a non-circular portion having a latera y offset part, said bracket comprising spaced walls defining a U-shaped support having a notch in the bottom thereof adapted to support said noncircular portion, said notch formed with a roove into Which said part may roll upon rotation of said rod, said spaced walls formed with ali ned r50 apertures therein, and resilient means yieldably secured at its ends in said apertures and extendable over and in close proximity to said noncircular portion and adapted to limited fiexion relative to said support to normally bias said rod 65 against accidental rotation.

SABIN C. BRONSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 7 file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,811,830 Gray June 23, 1931 2,409,322 Swann Oct. 15, 1946 

